Parallels
by AngryMustard
Summary: Who knew Zander Robbins and Andy Bartlett had so much in common?
1. Meetings

He first met Stevie Baskara on their first day at Brewster High. Andy was in Mr March's class scribbling notes in to his outer-space notebook about possible songs he could recreate with his unique _wind_ instrument. He could hear two girls, a blonde and a brunette, giggling and whispering behind him. It was probably directed at him; he was used to it by now.

Andy Bartlett had been teased for most of his school life. His mommy told that it was because they were jealous of him and Andy had to agree. He could fart out the tune to at least fifty songs; how many other people could do that? Nonetheless, Andy didn't really enjoy sitting by himself at lunch or being made to work on his own in class. So when one of the popular guys, Spencer, sat on the desk beside Andy, he was understandably pleased.

"Hey, you're Andrew, right?"

"Actually I go by Andy; my mommy says it makes me sound more like a cowboy," Andy replied and Spencer's friends burst into laughter. It was weird of them to laugh at him, Andy thought, seeing as Spencer might ask him to join their gang.

"Okay then, _Andy._ My friends and I were wondering if you wanted to come to a party with us Friday night?" Spencer smirked.

Andy's eyes widened. He hadn't been asked to a party before. Maybe high school was going to change him; he'd be the cool guy with loads of cute girls clinging to his arms!

"Of course I do! Where is it?"

"The abandoned warehouse in Old Major's field, you know the place?" Spencer asked.

"I do," Andy gulped. "But isn't that place a little _scary_ to have a party in?"

"Awh, Andy, you can't chicken-out on us! We need you there, man!"

Andy paused. They _wanted_ him there! He'd go to that party, socialise and dance a little bit, and by Monday he'd be the most popular guy in school! He had to go!

"I'll definitely be there," Andy smiled.

Spencer fist pumped happily before he motioned to the brunette Andy had heard laughing earlier. "See Molly over there? She told my friend that she's _totally_ into you. You have to ask her out, man!"

"Really?! Molly wants a slice of Andy-pie?"

Spencer chuckled. "Oh you bet it."

"Maybe I should sing her a song at the party," Andy suggested, his eyes widening with glee.

"That is an _awesome_ idea! She'll love that!" Spencer said as he slapped Andy on the shoulder. "Especially if you serenade her with one of your fart songs."

"Why don't you leave him alone?" a feminine voice from in front of the boys interjected. Andy looked up towards the voice and his breath caught in his throat. Sat in front of him was one of the most beautiful girls he'd ever seen. She had chestnut-coloured hair that flowed over her shoulders in loose locks and hazel eyes that glared angrily at Spencer.

"What do you mean? We're just trying to make plans!" Spencer defended himself, a daring smile spread across his lips.

"No, you're trying to make him look like an idiot. Why don't you just back off and go play with your airhead friends?" the girl snarled.

"I guess I'll see you later, Andy," Spencer shrugged as he raised his arms in the air to surrender before slowly backing off to sit by his friends.

"No, you shalln't," the girl scoffed before she pivoted to face Andy. "Ignore those jerks, okay?" she smiled softly.

"Okay, thanks…?"

"Stevie," she grinned before turning around to face the front.

_Stevie._

* * *

Zander Robbins had also met Stevie on his first day at Brewster High but he, however, was being targeted by the popular guys for a different reason. The moment Zander walked through the scratched, red-painted doors of the school, his charming aura and musical ability was a honey-trap for the female population. Immediately, the girls crowded around him as he plucked out tunes on his ukulele and complimented his _'handsome cheekbones'_ and '_tiny guitar'._ Totally accommodated to the attention, of course, Zander was at ease with his new cult of fan-girls but Spencer Haines and co. saw it as an opportunity. Zander was a chick-magnet but had no interest in keeping one girl as his own and telling the rest to back off. That meant he had plenty of adoring girls at his disposal, something Spencer could benefit from; why fight Zander for the girls when Zander could bring the girls to him?

That was why Spencer approached Zander in the courtyard that same lunchtime. Zander was sat on a small wall that bordered a flower bed with six girls sat around him. This made Spencer smirk with eagerness as he reached the group.

"Hey ladies, mind giving me and my man Zander some space?" Spencer asked them, his eyebrow was raised expectantly to show them he didn't anticipate a disagreement. The girls huffed but obeyed the hidden order and they gathered their belongings and reluctantly left. Spencer moved to sit on Zander's left, giving him a pat on the shoulder as he did so.

"I've gotta give it to you, man; you're gifted," Spencer complimented him.

Zander smiled and popped the collar on his blue flannel shirt. "Thanks, my mom said I could rock out on a guitar before I could even say her name."

"I didn't mean your music," Spencer deadpanned and Zander looked taken aback. "Well it's great and all but what I really meant was the way you picked up those girls; very smooth."

"Oh the girls," Zander chuckled quietly. "They're one of the perks of being a musician, I guess."

Zander really didn't appreciate his talent, Spencer mused. After a few hours at this school, he had effortlessly attracted the attention of nearly all the girls. That made him a useful resource to have.

"So listen, me and my boys were thinking that you should hang out with us sometime," Spencer offered.

"Really?" Zander asked and Spencer nodded. "I'll definitely think about it, thanks."

"No problem, man. I think we'll all get along no problem," Spencer smiled deviously as he stood. He nodded in Zander's direction before heading back to his friends.

Zander was surprised, to say the least. It wasn't that he didn't have friends back in New York; they just weren't what were considered the 'popular' type. In fact, the more popular guys in his old school weren't too fond of Zander's peppy, musical personality. So to be approached by the guy who, he was told, practically ran the student body and to be asked to hang out with was a bit unexpected. As speculative thoughts ran through his head, a shadow approached him from the steps on the right. He turned to the owner of said shadow and was jolted back into consciousness. The girl was wearing simply a red tank-top and beanie, accompanied by light-wash jeans and tattered sneakers. Her hair fumbled over her shoulders messily and Zander couldn't help but sit up straighter and slide a flirty grin onto his lips.

"What's up, baby?" he asked, his eyebrows flit up and down charmingly.

The girl raised an eyebrow of her own and sat beside him, her arms folded over her chest. "Please, spare me the lines," the girl sighed.

"Sure thing, gorgeous. Now, what can I do for you?" Zander smirked and shimmied closer to her, causing her eyebrows to heighten further.

"Look, I was going to be a good person and help you out but if you're going to keep saying chiz like that, you can forget about it."

"Aren't you feisty?" Zander chuckled. "So what's your name?"

"That's not important. I just wanted to tell yo-" the girl began before Zander interrupted with a devilish grin.

"Uh uh; how can you expect me to take advice from a complete stranger?"

"Fine, my name is Stevie," the girl groaned.

"It suits you," Zander complimented. "You may continue."

No matter how hard Stevie tried, a small smile tugged at the corner of her lips. If a guy normally talked to her like this, she wouldn't hesitate in setting him straight. But Zander spoke in such a playful way, she actually liked it.

"Thanks," she said dryly. "I couldn't help but hear your conversation with Spencer-"

"Creeper," Zander snorted.

"Would you shut up?" Zander raised his hands innocently. "Okay, so I heard what Spencer said and I just wanted to tell you not to bother hanging out with those goons."

"What's so bad about them?" Zander asked as he peered over Stevie's shoulder towards the lunch table Spencer and his friends were sat at. They were currently flicking a paper football across the table and Zander was not jock, but he guessed he could get used to it.

"They're jerks and if you hang out with them, that's one more buffoon everyone has to deal with daily," Stevie shrugged. "Besides, Spencer only wants you around for your little groupies."

Zander's head snapped back to face the girl in front of him. His eyes searched hers and he couldn't detect a speck of deceit in them.

"How do you know that?" Zander's eyebrows furrowed.

"Because I've been at this school long enough to know everyone's plans," Stevie explained as she pivoted around. "Take Kacey Simon, for example," Stevie started as she gestured to a table clustered with girls all dressed way too well for school. "Whenever she invites someone into her group, it's because they'll some how compliment her as the dance behind her as she sings."

"You're bluffing," Zander scoffed.

"No, Eloise, we've discussed this!" the voice belonging to Kacey Simon screeched across the courtyard, suddenly causing Zander to turn and watch. "You're a _backing _dancer, so you've gotta stay _behind _me!"

Zander returned to looking at Stevie, who was looking triumphant.

"Okay so you got lucky there," Zander conceded with a roll of his eyes.

"Believe whatever you want, I tried to help you," Stevie replied as she stood back on her feet. As she turned to walk away, Zander's voice stopped her.

"Well wait for me!" he called.

Stevie pivoted on the spot to look at him. "What do you mean?"

"Well since you took my potential friends from me, you'll have to take on that role now," Zander explained as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Oh no, I didn't come here to make a friend," Stevie chuckled nervously and she started to back away.

"Well then…surprise, I guess. Now come on, _best friend_, we've gotta get to know each other better," Zander grinned devilishly and swung an arm over Stevie's shoulder, leading her out of the courtyard.

* * *

_Next chapter: Songs._


	2. Songs

Andy quickly learnt that Stevie Baskara was not easily impressed. Whenever he tried to talk to Stevie about his action figures or his trip to the water-park with his Grandma, Stevie would quickly apologise to him and rush off somewhere. She was so polite; even though she was clearly busy with her band, Stevie always seemed to pay attention to him. Andy knew he had to show Stevie how he felt about her and to do that he needed to serenade Stevie Baskara.

That was why Andy sat alone in his basement on a late Wednesday night. The 'Furious Pigeons: Outer Space' posters on the walls where illuminated by his Andy's rocket-ship lava lamp as Andy scribbled messily onto his notepad. His song needed to be perfect; Stevie didn't deserve any less. Andy needed Stevie to know that, ever since the day where she stood up for him, he only had eyes for her, but he never knew how to tell her.

Andy was pleased with his idea to write Stevie a song; she was the most musical girl he knew, so a song written especially for her was perfect. Now he just had to make sure that what he wrote was romantic-enough to woo Brewster's resident tomboy. He tried to think of musicians who knew how to make thousands of girls putty in their hands and he could only think of one group of boys; Big Time Rush. Sure, BTR were probably considered a band mainly for girls but Andy didn't have a problem admitting that he has all their albums, three posters of them in his room and that he once queued for three hours to see the boys. (Sadly, he mixed up the day of the meet-and-greet and ended up meeting a nice country-folk band instead). If Andy could write a song like BTR, Stevie would finally notice him as a serious musician, ask him to join Gravity 5 and maybe even be his girlfriend!

'Where to start?' Andy pondered. He obviously needed to get straight to the point so that Stevie knew he was serious about her. He chewed the end of his pen as he thought for a moment, before an idea sparked into his head for the opening lines of his song. Andy grinned to himself; that would make her melt, he knew it. He heard Zander call girls 'baby' whenever he flirted with them, so Andy knew he had to call Stevie something cool like 'babe' if he was going to get Stevie's attention.

Pleased with his opening lines, Andy moved on. What would Big Time Rush do now? Obviously show Stevie why he felt this way. This was hard; Andy couldn't explain why he loved Stevie, he just _did._ Andy let out a sigh and dropped his head. Then he caught sight of his Star Wars t-shirt. Andy knew what he needed to do. How could he justify himself to Stevie without comparing her to one of the best TV shows ever made?

Andy laughed to himself. Writing a song isn't as hard as it sounds! How singers take years to write albums, he'll never know!

Andy's stomach randomly made a large gurgle, causing another delighted smile to slink onto his face as another idea popped into his head. Girls loved to be taken out for dinner; he'd seen so on the reality shows he'd watched…with his sister, of course. Maybe if he offered Stevie an evening of fine food followed by a slice of Andy pie she wouldn't be able to resist! But, Andy thought, Stevie was determinedly independent so there's no way she'd let him pay for everything…maybe he should show her how well he knew her and offer for her to pay half of the cheque. (Also, his mommy hadn't given him his allowance this month because he bought a rabid cat with it last month).

Now all he had to do was close the song. It had to be done right; this could be make or break. Andy tried to think about how Stevie acted normally. She was a bit hot-headed and often Zander had to hold her back and tell her how to act. Then his final great idea came to him; he needed to forcefully, but politely, demand that Stevie accompany him to the dance. It took a few minutes, but eventually Andy had finished his work of art. Stevie was going to love it and Zander was going to wish that he was Andy. Tomorrow, Andy was going to demand that the boys of Gravity 5 sing the song to Stevie, Andy decided as he pushed his chair decisively out from under the desk. Grabbing the notepad with one hand, Andy dashed upstairs.

"Mommy, come read what I wrote!"

* * *

If you asked him, he'd deny that he wrote 'Lady' for Stevie.

Zander wasn't embarrassed that he'd wrote a song for his best friend; he just didn't want Stevie finding out that he'd lied to her to her face. If Stevie found out that he lied to her when he told her the song was about her dog, she would be _beyond_ mad. Maybe he'd tell her sometime in the future when they were in a happy, steady relationship together. Sure, some people may think that he's conceited to say that he knew he and Stevie were going to end up together, but Zander knew things other didn't. He saw how Stevie acted when he was around and he knew that Stevie felt the same way he did. He was just too afraid to admit that he'd committed the cardinal sin; falling for his best friend.

That's why he'd written 'Lady'; to show that he noticed how Stevie acted and that it meant something to him. The song poured out Zander's mental journal and told the stories of when he began to notice that Stevie had started acting differently and what memories he was going to make with her.

The first thing that inspired his song was that he realised that Stevie didn't like him doing anything without her.

* * *

_Zander stumbled breathlessly into the band-room on an early Monday morning. His weekend had been hectic; he'd been running around the mall hunting for birthday presents for Stevie with Kacey, which was one of the worst decisions he made. Kacey wasn't one for keeping quiet about what she'd done on the weekend and promptly blogged about her shopping trip with Zander. Zander knew it was more than likely that Stevie had seen the posts and probably figured out that he was buying her presents. However, he hadn't expected Stevie to be sat on the couch, causing him to jump._

"_Did you have fun this weekend with _Kacey?_" Stevie asked with a sharp edge to her voice._

"_Uh yeah," Zander stuttered. "I got everything I needed."_

"_Oh I'm _sure _you did," Stevie scoffed before roughly grabbing her bag from the floor and stomping towards the door._

"_What's your deal?" Zander asked with a raised eyebrow. This was a new side to Stevie; a blatantly obvious jealous side which Zander couldn't deny that he found immensely attractive._

"_My _deal _is that my best friend ditched me to hang out with the ex-Perf who only joined our band a few weeks ago. Good to know I'm easily replaceable, Z," Stevie hissed although there was a tinge of sadness to her voice._

_ Zander was taken aback by Stevie's outburst. He never meant for her to feel this way and mentally noted to have a word with Kacey later to ask her to apologise._

"_Steves, you've got it wrong. I only went out with Kacey because I needed her help," Zander tried to explain._

"_Why couldn't I help you, Z?" Stevie asked quietly and as Zander looked into her eyes, he saw delicate tears lacing them. Zander sighed and moved towards Stevie to envelope her in a hug. _

"_You couldn't help because I was buying you gifts," Zander conceded. He'd rather her know her secret than watch her cry._

"_Well now I feel like an idiot," Stevie laughed quietly. "I just don't like to think of you leaving me out."_

* * *

Zander smiled at the memory; he can remember begging Stevie to forgive him for the misunderstanding and she just swatted his arm and told him to man-up.

Zander would also randomly tell Stevie that she was unique. Whether it was after she did something stupid or something completely brilliant, Zander genuinely meant that she was mesmerising. Her originality was something Zander loved about her; Stevie never conformed to the latest fashion style and her personality couldn't be wavered. Zander loved that Stevie was her own person and she couldn't be changed; he hoped that Stevie knew that she was different and that he admired her for it.

The song was just the start of it all. Zander had a lot more planned for when Stevie becomes his girlfriend. His plans involved dates that Stevie would ultimately call cheesy, a lot more playful banter, a fair bit of affection and enough songs dedicated to her to make an album. He was going to do it all to make sure Stevie was her happiest when she was with him. The first step was singing her a song without hiding the meaning from her. Then Zander would see where fate would take them next. But he knew he was going to work his best to make Stevie his, and quickly.

* * *

Next chapter: Jealousy.


	3. Jealousy

He wasn't stupid. Andy knew that most girls, most of the school in fact, laughed about him when he wasn't around. A lot of people just saw him as the idiot that ran around the school in dorky shirts, looking desperately for some people who would actually call him their friend. His mommy told him that the girls were secretly upset that they'd never have a chance with him and the boys were just jealous. But for once, his mommy was wrong. To survive high school, you had to be one of two things; beautiful or forgettable. Sadly, Andy wasn't really what was considered beautiful to most teenage girls; he'd often been told he looked like a ten year-old with a dust-bunny on his head. Also, Andy was kinda hard to forget once you met him; his boisterous innocence was somewhat infectious. Therefore, Andy fell into neither category.

Zander Robbins had a clear group; beautiful. Andy saw the way nearly all of the girls at Brewster High stared after him longingly. Those girls included Stevie Baskara. Sure, Zander brushed off most of the girls, but never Stevie. Zander would always be sat right up against Stevie, his arm over her shoulder or his hand resting on her thigh and he would whisper in her ear whilst the rest of Gravity 5 carried on as if it was nothing new. And Stevie let him do it. And that made Andy jealous.

Andy didn't like to be jealous. His grandma told him off one Christmas for getting jealous of his cousin's presents and since that day; he tried his best to hide the nasty green monster that rumbled in his chest. However, the day Zander Robbins swaggered into school with his stupid tiny guitar strapped to his back was the day Andy started fighting a losing battle. Apparently, Stevie liked that Zander could play the mini guitar and had charm to go with it. Personally, Andy thought Zander was arrogant but Stevie, for some strange reason, laughed at his jokes and called him her best friend. Not that Andy wanted Stevie to be his friend, of course, but he would have liked it if Stevie were that comfortable around him.

He'd heard people whisper in the packed hallways that Zander and Stevie were made for each other. Heck, he'd even heard Kacey and the other boys talk about their band members that way.

"_Have you seen the way he looks at her? It's _adorable_!"_

"_The way she smiles at him; it's totes obvious that she loves him."_

"_I suppose if he doesn't wanna marry me, she's a good second option."_

"_I bet you my copy of _Furious Pigeons: Rainforest Frenzy _that they'll be dating before summer break."_

Nearly everyone thought Zander and Stevie were meant to be together and Andy hated it. He couldn't escape it; if he went to one of Gravity 5's concerts, he had to watch as people told Stevie that hers and Zander's duet was the most romantic thing they'd seen in a few years. If he was given the chance to be around Stevie more often, Andy thought that they would say that he and Stevie belonged together. Zander may have been able to make Stevie laugh so much that she'd make a cute snorting noise, but Andy knew that if he told her some of his knock-knock jokes she'd keel over in laughter. Sometimes Zander bought Stevie random gifts; clothes, jewellery, music books. Andy, though, would be sure to shower her in presents nearly everyday; he wanted her to be treated like a princess. But sometimes princess' presents were hard to buy with just an allowance.

There was no denying that Andy wanted to be in Zander's position. He couldn't imagine how awesome it must be to hang out with Stevie so often, to have her come closer than five feet away and to have her look at you with adoration. But Andy knew that if he was gonna make that happen, he was gonna have to step up his game and beat Zander Robbins to the top. But, like his mommy says, all's fair in love and war.

* * *

'Zander Robbins doesn't get jealous,' that's what he always said when he lived back home in New York. But then he moved to California and started at Brewster High School where he met Stevie Baskara. Now he says, 'Zander Robbins shouldn't get jealous.' She was his best friend; he shouldn't feel this way. He shouldn't want to punch the nearest wall whenever a guy lets their eyes linger on Stevie for too long. He shouldn't shoot glares at guys when Stevie wasn't looking. And he almost certainly shouldn't be jealous of the likes of Justin Cole and Andy Bartlett.

It was obvious why any guy would see Justin as a threat; handsome, charming and rich were some of his alluring characteristics. Justin would prance around on his high horse, both physically and metaphorically, and flash girls his best grin, instantly making them putty in his hands. Unfortunately, Stevie wasn't immune to this. Stevie was a girl (hours of _innocently_ observing her had led him to this knowledge), so an attractive guy pulling all his moves on her would obviously have some effect on her. Zander didn't like what Justin was doing to Stevie as he knew for a fact that he acted exactly the same with numerous other girls on campus. Having admitted his feelings for Stevie to himself a few weeks ago, Zander felt that he needed to have a…_quiet word_ with Justin.

* * *

_"Justin, can we talk for a sec?" Zander asked as he jogged to catch up with the boy as students filed out of their Trigonometry classroom at the end of another long school day._

"_Sure, what's up?" the blond asked nonchalantly, leaning back against the poster-covered wall._

"_I don't really know how to say this," Zander sighed and nervously scratched behind his neck. "But I've noticed your uh…_advances_ towards Stevie aren't exactly exclusive, if you know what I mean?"_

"_My advances?" Justin laughed. "Since when were you a nineteenth-century English-gent?" _

"_I mean it, Justin; Stevie's a great girl and she doesn't deserve to get messed around."_

"_Oh I get it," Justin smirked knowingly. "You've already got dibs. I totally get it, dude."_

_Zander frowned, "Stevie is a person, not an object; nobody gets 'dibs' on her."_

"_Whatever, man. Good luck with that one though; she's tough to crack," Justin shrugged as he started to walk away._

"_Yeah, I know. But if you had an ounce of brain cells, you'd see that she's worth it."_

* * *

That comment had earned him a week's worth of revenge pranks from Justin's cronies but Zander didn't mind one bit seeing as Stevie was always the one helping to clean him up. It also helped in making sure that Stevie was no longer hung up on Justin Cole. One down, one to go.

The last person you'd expect Zander to be jealous of was Andy Bartlett; he wasn't a conventional threat by any means. However, that didn't stop Zander's gut from clenching into choking knots whenever Stevie was fawning over Andy to protect him from whatever idiot was bullying him that day. Although it was something Zander loved about Stevie, her selflessness was something that drove him insane. It wasn't only Andy that Mother-Bear Stevie felt the need to protect; they'd been enjoying a relaxing day in the park a few weekends ago when they came across a cat that limped painfully towards them. A sucker for anything that needed caring, Stevie immediately scooped the animal in her arms and held it closely to her chest as she made Zander drive her to the nearest animal shelter. Zander wouldn't admit to anyone that he was jealous of a _random cat_ of all things.

The cat was out of the picture soon enough, however. But Andy was always floating in and out of their daily lives and as soon as he was approached by someone looking to make him do something stupid, Stevie was straight out of her seat and beginning a rant at the enemy. Initially, Zander watched in admiration when Stevie was in action. However, after a few weeks of witnessing it and harbouring growing feelings for the fiery brunette, Zander started to get irritated at how Andy was clearly revelling in the attention. The controlling green monster inside him demanded that he tell Stevie to stop defending Andy, insisting that he needed to learn to look after himself. When he did confront Stevie, she immediately told him to grow up; she was just being a decent human being and he had no reason to be jealous. She then promptly stormed out of the courtyard. Zander felt awful about it until he saw Andy smirking not-so-innocently close by. Point one, Bartlett.

* * *

Next chapter: Propositions.


	4. Propositions

He was finally going to do it. Andy Bartlett was going to ask Stevie Baskara to a dance. He'd talked about the idea with his grandma for nearly three hours and she was thrilled that her 'slightly strange grandbaby' was going to ask a living, breathing girl to a _public _event. Andy's grandma kept telling him that if he was going to attempt to get a girl to go out with him, he was going to have to make a big gesture. Andy had suggested tying a note to a duck's foot and releasing it in Stevie's bedroom, but his grandma quickly vetoed the idea saying that not only would he be rejected, he'd be arrested for trespassing. Then Andy thought he could write a message in the sky using an airplane, but once again he didn't have enough money (he really needed to speak to his mommy about raising his allowance).

The idea came to him as he read his 'Young Astronauts of the Future' magazine; Stevie liked music, so he obviously had to sing for her. He immediately threw his magazine to the flattened carpet and scrambled over to his laptop to search for some song ideas. He was going to need a ridiculously romantic song that would make her fall into his arms like the princesses in movies did. Andy was on the internet until late that night (he even skipped his bedtime!). Finally, at 12:07:42am, Andy found the _perfect _song. The lyrics were sweet and heart-warming and the song closed with an instrumental, leaving Andy with backing music for when he asked Stevie to the dance. All he had to do tomorrow was practise the song and then he could perform for Stevie on Wednesday.

Andy was excited throughout a typically boring Tuesday in school. He'd watched Stevie all day trying to work out how she would react to him. Whenever she was happy and smiling, the skin around her eyes would crinkle in a way Andy found adorable. When she was excited, she would throw herself at her friends (mostly _Zander_) and nearly knock them over as she held them in a tight hug around their neck. 'Tomorrow, that could be me,' Andy thought and that spurred him to cycle home extra quickly.

When he got home, his mommy was ready to greet him with sugar cookies and juice box which he accepted quickly before scurrying down to his basement hideout. He shoved a whole cookie in his mouth and typed his password into his computer. Pulling up a website that would play the karaoke version of his song, Andy performed his vocal warm up exercises; he had to be professional about this. When he was ready, Andy began the music track and joined in (he might have been a little late to start singing). Andy knew that he wasn't the _best_ singer, but he didn't think he sounded too bad. His cat, Sir Arnold Fluffington, must have thought so too because he pawed relentlessly at the basement door, obviously to go and get Andy's mommy so she could listen as well.

After hours of practising his song, Andy felt that he was ready. He'd planned what he was going to do; at lunch, he was going to demand silence and then walk over to Stevie and take her hand. Then he'll cue the music and sing his song for Stevie. When he was finished, Andy will get on one knee and ask Stevie to the dance. Stevie will say yes and they'll hug as Zander looks at them jealously. It was the perfect plan.

Today was the day. His morning classes dragged on slowly as the butterflies flitted in Andy's stomach when lunchtime approached. Eventually, the bell rang for lunch and Andy swapped his backpack for the CD player in his locker. Andy took a deep breath and began walking towards the courtyard. Just as he made it close to the courtyard doors, Andy's path was blocked by Zander, Nelson and Kevin who had ambushed Layla, a girl in the grade above them.

"Layla, this is a singing telegram just for _you_ from Eli," Zander smirked before the three boys broke out into a short song that Andy had never heard before.

The Gravity 5 boys sang about what Eli liked about Layla and finished with a singing question, asking Layla if she'd meet Eli in the ice cream shop after school. When they finished their song, spiky-haired Eli stepped out from around the corner and stood in front of Nelson.

"How about it?" Eli asked, a nervous twinge running through his voice.

There was a pause before Layla launched herself into Eli's arms, excitedly squeaking a 'yes' and kissing his cheek repeatedly.

Andy looked at the CD player in his hand and then back at Eli and Layla. He liked Eli's plan better. He was going to get Stevie a singing telegram!

Stevie said 'yes'!

* * *

"Zander, are you in he – whoa!"

That was the reaction Zander was looking for. He'd finally decided on a way to ask Stevie on a date. Stevie Baskara, his best friend, his bassist, the girl he promised himself that he wouldn't fall for. That plan clearly went well. After weeks of torment, Zander had sent a text to Stevie asking him to meet him in the band room on a Friday evening (thank god the janitor had given the band a key). She was probably expecting that Zander wanted an impromptu song writing session with her, so it was no wonder Stevie was frozen in the doorway at the top of the short staircase.

The room was dimly lit and Zander had lined the steps leading to the door with small white candles, the small flames dancing in the draft Stevie let in through the door. A single candelabrum stood proudly on the coffee table, next to a bunch of white roses. Zander had also tossed a white blanket over the usually dull green couch. Zander himself was sat on a barstool in front of Nelson's keyboard, his ukulele poised over his chest.

"Z, I…what is all this?" Stevie asked breathlessly, her voiced wrapping around Zander and making him want to walk over to her and hold her close to him. 'Not yet,' he chastised mentally.

"You always talk about how when you have your own apartment, the decor will be white because you think it's classy. I thought you'd like it," Zander shrugged.

"No I do like it, I just…what is this for, Zander?" Stevie reassured him as she hesitantly began stepping into the room, closing the door behind her.

"Sit on the couch and you'll find out," Zander teased with a small smile.

Zander's coffee-coloured eyes followed Stevie's form as she walked towards the couch and taking a seat. She was dressed in a figure-hugging pair of jeans and a patterned top, a beanie perched on her head. When he'd first met her, Zander had thought to himself that she was unique; not many girls shared her style and Zander loved that she wasn't controlled by common fashion. Zander slowly eased himself off his seat as walked around the couch to sit on the arm of the sofa on Stevie's right. This was it. After hours of planning, he was finally living the moment.

"Steves, you know how a few weeks ago you invaded my privacy and read my song?"

"I wasn't snooping; I was being a helpful friend!"

"Sure thing, baby," Zander chuckled. "Well remember I told you that the song wasn't about you?"

"Oh you mean when you humiliated me in front of the band? Yeah, I remember. Vividly."

Zander had to bite back a smirk at her monotony. When he focussed back on what he was about to do, Zander took in a deep breath. "I wasn't entirely honest with you, Stevie."

By now, Stevie had completely turned to face him, her eyebrow raised in curiosity. "Go on."

"The thing is, Steves, the song is about _you_ and I wrote it for _you_," Zander smiled softly at the girl and her lips pursed in realisation. "So if you'll let me, I'd like to sing the song for you, but this time I'm not going to hide the truth from you."

Unable to speak, Stevie simply nodded. Almost instantly, Zander began playing out the tune to 'Lady' and raised his head to sing, looking directly into Stevie's eyes. He held her gaze as he sang, watching as she scanned his eyes for any sign that this was another joke or some kind of misunderstanding. Zander had imagined this moment to be painfully awkward, that Stevie would freak out and leave, their friendship lying in tatters. But Zander was comfortable; Stevie was mesmerised by him and he could almost feel something bubbling between them as he finished the song. When his hand parted from the string of his uke for the last time, the pair sat in silence momentarily. Stevie then moved forward to hug the boy, whispering thanks into his neck. Zander just smiled and relaxed, resting his head against her.

They remained in that position for a minute, enjoying the warmth between them. Eventually Zander broke the silence, "there's something else."

Stevie shifted in his hold, getting out of his grasp so that she could look him in the eyes. Zander reached for Stevie's hand, letting his thumb dance lightly over her fingers.

"I'm not great with words unless I'm writing a song so I hope 'Lady' kinda did the talking for me," Zander explained sheepishly, to which Stevie squeezed his hand in reply. "I was really hoping, Steves, that you'd go out with me tomorrow night?"

He'd done it. The seconds ticked by excruciatingly.

"Of course I will, you idiot."

She said 'yes'!

* * *

_Next chapter: Confrontation._


	5. Confrontation

"He's watching us again."

Zander sighed and followed Stevie's gaze across the courtyard, locking eyes with Andy Bartlett as he did. Andy looked tired, his clothes were rumpled and his belongings were spewing from his backpack which was abandoned at his feet. He'd been this way for about three weeks; ever since Zander and Stevie had walked into Brewster High, their fingers twisted delicately together. Zander knew that Andy's crush on his girlfriend almost guaranteed that he'd be upset at his and Stevie's relationship status. He hadn't, however, expected Andy to go into a state of mourning, wearing entirely black for the first week after Zander asked Stevie to be his girlfriend.

"You should talk to him," Stevie's voice interrupted Zander's thought process, causing him to whip his head back in her direction.

"You're kidding me, right?" Zander laughed. "What do you expect me to say? 'Andy, I'm sorry that I couldn't resist Stevie's sexiness any longer but, dude, you need to stop watching us; we're not planning on putting on a show?'"

His girlfriend momentarily gaped at him before she punched him on the arm with as much force as she could allow herself to muster.

"Why are you punching me? That was basically a compliment!" Zander exclaimed amusedly. "But seriously, what do you expect me to say? I'm not gonna apologise to him for being your boyfriend."

"And I don't expect you to," Stevie sighed as she started to absently trace patterns on one of her thighs which were currently thrown across Zander's own. "I just feel bad for him; it must suck to see someone you think you love with someone else…"

"Steves," Zander soothed, catching Stevie's hand with his own. "You know that I love that you care about people so much but, babe, you shouldn't feel the need to apologise to other people for you being happy. If it would make you feel better, I'll talk to Andy and work out how he's feeling and maybe we can come to some kind of agreement."

"An agreement?" Stevie giggled. "What; is he going to have me Monday through Wednesday and you'll have me Thursday through Sunday?"

Zander scoffed and pulled Stevie closer to him by her legs, "I don't share."

Stevie laughed again as a blush filtered onto her cheeks. She then reached up and lightly pressed a kiss to the corner of Zander's mouth.

"I think Andy just snapped a pencil out of anger…"

* * *

That afternoon, once the school bell had rang and the Brewster High students had bolted off campus, Zander sat waiting on the school steps for Andy. He had guessed that Andy hadn't left school yet since a bicycle with a _'Mommy's Little Superhero' _flag on the back was still haphazardly locked in the bike shed. Stevie had left her boyfriend on the school steps about ten minutes ago, wishing him luck in his talk with Andy and telling him she'd meet him at school the following morning.

Initially, Zander hadn't been very keen to discuss his girlfriend with another dude, but then he thought about how Andy must have been feeling; the numbing pain that shot through Zander's chest when Stevie had gotten all flustered over Phil was all too familiar and that had only been for a few days. Whereas Andy, he had to watch as Stevie got closer and closer to Zander and, over the past few weeks, as the couple publicly displayed their feelings for one another.

Zander's thought process was broken as he heard a deep rattling against the door way. Shifting his position so he could see the doors clearly, Zander was greeted by Andy's face which was painfully pressed against the glass; the poor boy had clearly walked into the door. With a shake of his head, Andy pulled the door open and stopped when he saw Zander.

The darker-haired boy simply grinned and patted the ground to his left, "Andy, pull up a step."

Andy's eyes flickered to the spot next to Zander and then to the bicycle shed. Eventually, he let out a sigh and trudged down the steps to sit down, making sure to leave a noticeable gap between them.

A brief silence passed and Zander awkwardly tapped his fingers against his kneecap. How the heck do you start a conversation with your girlfriend's creepy admirer?

"So, Andy, uh…how're you feeling?" The words tumbled from his lips before he could consider the response.

"Like two intergalactic aliens abducted me and removed my heart from my chest," Andy wailed in his typical dramatic expression. He wasn't going to make this easy.

"Look, Andy," Zander started, "I know how you're feeling right now-"

"How could _you_ understand how I feel? You're _you_!"

"I wasn't born with these moves, you know? I had my fair share of problems, but you live and you learn," Zander tried to reason with his companion. It was true; he did have some girl issues but who didn't?

"I'm not sure I'll live past this," Andy declared melodramatically, looking towards the sky for effect.

Internally, Zander groaned. He knew that Andy had feelings for Stevie, but he didn't realise that they ran this deeply for him. Granted, Zander didn't really know Andy, but neither did Andy know Stevie. But he couldn't patronise the way Andy felt; sometimes it feels like your heart has a mind of its own and acts in its own way.

"I felt like that once," Zander shrugged helplessly.

This had caught Andy's attention and he finally turned to face the musician. "Really?"

"Yeah; back in New York there was this girl called 'Ella' and I was crazy about her. I wrote songs for her, left things in her locker and tried to impress her as much as I could," Zander smiled slightly as he thought of his younger-self rushing around his old high school, looking out for Ella. "But it wasn't meant to be; she met Aaron and they got together. I was heartbroken, man. I probably felt just how you're feeling now; I thought she was the one for me and that I wouldn't be able to live my life without her. But after some time passed, I realised that the world didn't end and we weren't destined to be together. She was happy with Aaron and still was when I moved here, and then I met Stevie and…you know the rest."

Andy had listened carefully throughout Zander's story. Zander had looked so happy when he joined Brewster High; no one could tell that his heart had been shattered. Maybe there was hope for Andy!

"So, do you know what I think you should do?" Zander asked gently.

"Move to a new city and find another beautiful bass player? Chicago sounds fun!" Andy exclaimed and Zander chuckled.

"That it does. But no, I think you need to focus on something else; you want to be a fart doctor, right?"

"No that was weeks ago; now I want to be an astronaut and bake chocolate cookies on the moon!"

"Okay…" Zander replied amusedly. "Well why don't you start doing whatever trainee outer space bakers do and who knows; you might meet some hot alien chick whilst you're waiting for the cookies to cool down!"

"I think you're right…thanks," Andy smiled gratefully before he and Zander stood up from their seats.

"It worked for me," Zander shrugged cheekily before starting his descent from the step. "See you around, Andy."

"Wait a second," Andy commanded and he caught up to Zander. "Promise me you'll be nice to her?"

Zander smiled genuinely and held his hand out for Andy to shake, which he accepted. "You know I will."

* * *

The next morning, Zander was slumped over Gravity 5's usual lunch table, using his rucksack as a pillow as he snoozed lightly before class. Light footsteps echoed behind him and he soon felt a small hand brush against his back.

"Hey," Stevie's voice greeted simply. Zander sat up and smiled at the sight of his girlfriend looking at him with tired eyes.

"Good morning," he whispered before pressing a short kiss against her toothpaste-flavoured lips. When he pulled away, his eyes silently scanned her face, taking in every possible detail he could see.

"How did it go yesterday?" Stevie asked.

"Good, I think. I mostly talked and offered him some advice and I think he was gonna follow it," Zander replied with a small shrug.

"I guess we'll find out because he's heading over here now," Stevie indicated to the left side of the court yard where Andy was making his way towards the couple. He looked a lot healthier today and he seemed happier as well.

"Morning, guys," Andy gave a small wave as he reached them and he received an equally warm reply back. "I just wanted to say that I've been gathering loads of cookie recipes and that my grandma is gonna help me research rocket-ship oven facilities later."

"That's…great, Andy," Stevie smiled whilst looking unsurely at Zander, who simply nodded with a small smile gracing his lips.

"I also wanted to tell you that I hope you two are happy together and you have my approval to be a couple," the frizzy-haired boy declared, looking proud of himself.

"Uh…thanks, I guess," Zander grinned nonetheless and slapped the other boy appreciatively on the shoulder as he stood up. "Steves, we should go to the band room to meet the others," he then smiled.

"Okay," Stevie nodded at Zander. However, before making her way to meet the rest of Gravity 5, Stevie leant towards Andy and kissed him on his left cheek, causing a crimson blush to immediately erupt on the boy's cheek. "Thanks Andy," Stevie smiled before reaching for Zander's outstretched hand and following his lead to the band room.


End file.
